Rotten Truth Blog

Write a blog about something you learned about solid waste that surprised you

Garbage is the stuff we don't need anymore, the junk we think is useless. It's the rejects we don't want to deal with, and the cast-offs from the way we live. It comes from our homes, businesses, government agencies, and institutions like schools and hospitals. Garbage is also known as "municipal solid waste.” On average, Americans create 210 million tons of municipal solid waste each year. The components that our trash consists of would include: paper and textiles which make up 42% of our garbage; metal, plastic, and glass which make up 23% of our garbage; yard waste which make up 18% of our garbage; and food waste which makes up 7% of our garbage. We bury most of our garbage in landfills where it may stay forever. We burn some trash, but burning can pollute the air if not properly controlled, and it still leaves ash to bury. We can recycle many things, but even these processes require energy, and create waste and pollution. There is no way to get rid of all our garbage. The best solution is to reduce, reuse, and recycle to manage what is left. In the U.S., we burn about 17% of garbage in combustors and burning can reduce the volume of garbage by 60% to 90%. However, this method produces ash and creates harmful gases and particles that must be filtered out of the air which would be detrimental to both the environment and the economy. Despite our current situation, many people don’t tend to reduce, reuse, and recycle. In fact, we recycle only half of our aluminum, 38% of all paper, 20% of our glass, and only 5% of all plastic. Although recycling still consumes energy and natural resources as well as create pollution, recycling helps us use materials over and over again. However, some of those materials lose their desirable characteristics and eventually must be discarded after recycling. Thus, we can not always rely on recycling and must resort to a different and better method towards out “dirty” problem. Although recycling is recommended, I am surprised at how lazy people are towards recycling. For example, even though we have recycling bins around the school, there are still plastics in the regular trash bins. Therefore, I am not surprised that recycling is not advertised but rather at how humanity is not taking a step towards change and helping the planet we live in because one day we will all be living in a dump due to the accumulated landfills we refuse to recycle.

Deadly Feasts Idea Wave Chapter 3

Deadly Feasts Idea Wave Chapters 1-2

Weather Blog 3

Weather Career: meteorologist

Meteorology is the science of the atmosphere. Meteorology is a tough college major. It takes its name from the Greek word meteoron - something that happens high in the sky. The ancient Greeks observed clouds, winds, and rain and tried to understand how they are connected to one another. The weather was important in their relatively simple society because it affected the farmers who raised their food and their seamen who sailed the oceans. Today, our complex society and our environment are affected even more seriously by events and changes in the atmosphere. We must address many complicated issues and answer many difficult questions about the behavior of the atmosphere and its effects on the people of our planet. The American Meteorological Society defines a meteorologist as a person with specialized education "who uses scientific principles to explain, understand, observe, or forecast the earth's atmospheric phenomena and/or how the atmosphere affects the earth and life on the planet." This education usually includes a bachelor's or higher degree from a college or university. Many meteorologists have degrees in physics, chemistry, mathematics, and other fields. The basic requirement for becoming a meteorologist or a climatologist is a 4-year Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology or Atmospheric Sciences. Some teaching, research or management positions require a Masters of Science degree or a Ph.D. Basically, meteorologists study and predict the weather and climate and its relationship on other environmental processes and the impact on our lives and economy.  Specifically meteorologists can have many different jobs including daily weather forecasting, atmospheric research, teaching, broadcasting and supporting clients through private sector meteorological companies. Traditionally, the largest employer of meteorologists in this country has been the United States Government. Most atmospheric scientists work indoors in weather stations, offices, or laboratories. Occasionally, they do fieldwork, which means working outdoors to examine the weather. Some atmospheric scientists may have to work extended hours during weather emergencies. Meteorologists in the United States take home approximately $51K per year on average. With some bonuses approaching $10K and certain profit sharing proceeds approaching $43K, overall incomes of Meteorologists spread between $30K and $104K depending on individual performance. The median annual wage for atmospheric scientists was $89,260 in May 2012.

 

Weather Blog 2

Biggest air issue and why i.e. acid rain, global warming, ozone hole etc....

Global warming is the term used to describe a gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and its oceans, a change that is believed to be permanently changing the Earth’s climate. There is great debate among many people, and sometimes in the news, on whether global warming is real. However, climate scientists looking at the data and facts agree the planet is warming. While many view the effects of global warming to be more substantial and more rapidly occurring than others do, the scientific consensus on climatic changes related to global warming is that the average temperature of the Earth has risen between 0.4 and 0.8 °C over the past 100 years. Carbon dioxide and other global warming pollutants are collecting in the atmosphere like a thickening blanket, due to the burning of fossil fuels, land clearing, agriculture, and other human activities, which in turn traps the sun's heat and causes the planet to warm up. These factors are believed to be the primary sources of the global warming that has occurred over the past 50 years. Scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate carrying out global warming research have recently predicted that average global temperatures could increase between 1.4 and 5.8 °C by the year 2100. Changes resulting from global warming may include rising sea levels due to the melting of the polar ice caps, as well as an increase in occurrence and severity of storms and other severe weather events. Climate change is changing our economy, health and communities in diverse ways. Scientists warn that if we do not aggressively curb climate change now, the results will likely be disastrous.Climate change is a complex phenomenon, and its full-scale impacts are hard to predict far in advance. But each year scientists learn more about how climate change is affecting the planet and our communities, and most agree that certain consequences are likely to occur if current trends continue. In addition to impacting our water resources, energy supply, transportation, agriculture, and ecosystems, the United States Global Change Research Program concludes that climate change also poses unique challenges to human health. For instance, there may be significant increases in the risk of illness and death related to extreme heat and heat waves are very likely as well as diseases transmitted by food, water, and insects are likely to increase. These impacts will result in significant costs to our families and the economy. However, technologies exist today to make cars that run cleaner and burn less gas, modernize power plants and generate electricity from non pollutant sources, and cut our electricity use through energy efficiency. The challenge is to be sure these solutions are put to use.

REFERENCES:

• http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/
• http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming#.VRYkSfnF-So
• http://www.livescience.com/topics/global-warming/